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CORTLANDT - A Verplanck man has been accused of stealing a boat Wednesday from the Hudson Valley Marina to go to a bar, then snatching another in Haverstraw when his first ride broke down, police said.
Wayne Woods, 44, was charged with criminal possession of stolen property and criminal mischief, felonies; and two counts of unauthorized use of a vehicle, a misdemeanor.
He was arrested about 8:45 p.m. Friday by the Westchester County police marine unit.
Woods, who lives in a trailer at the Hudson Valley Marina, is said to have told witnesses he was going to a bar across the river before taking a 22-foot vessel from the Verplanck dock.
That boat apparently wouldn't start when Woods was leaving Haverstraw to come back, so he snagged another one and towed the broken boat, said Lt. James Luciano of the marine unit.
"He stole another boat and tried to hide the fact he took the first boat to begin with," Luciano said. "He put back the first boat and left the boat from Haverstraw floating around."
On Thursday, someone spotted an abandoned 18-foot boat in the river near Cortlandt and brought it to the Hudson Valley Marina.
Workers found a sticker that showed the vessel was from Haverstraw and called the Rockland marina, which then alerted police, Luciano said.
Woods also had two arrest warrants involving probation violations.
